11:10 a.m. – Lambert and new Campbell coach Mike Minter, the former Carolina Panthers defensive back and former 49ers’ program fundraiser, meet and shake hands warmly near midfield.

11:44 a.m. – Charlotte players crowd around each other at midfield before heading to the locker room for their final pregame preparations.

11:59 a.m. – Carroll York, who played for the school’s first two football teams in 1946 and 1947, is honored at midfield. York, a Charlotte native who attended old Tech High, was celebrating his 86th birthday on Saturday.

CHARLOTTE – For some UNC Charlotte fans, Saturday’s inaugural football game had to be seen to be believed. Perhaps that’s why an over-capacity crowd of 16,630 jammed into a stadium with a listed capacity of 15,314.

After all, many UNCC graduates thought they’d never see the day when their school would have a football team.

Well, that day came – and 49ers fans were able to celebrate a 52-7 victory over Campbell at sold out Jerry Richardson Stadium.

How big was it?

Stadium namesake Richardson was among the VIP guests that also included governor (and former Charlotte mayor) Pat McCrory.

Here’s a look back at how the day went for Charlotte in its long-anticipated gridiron debut:

8 a.m. – Tailgating begins all around the new stadium. Traffic was a problem closer to game time, but most fans arrived early enough to enjoy pregame festivities of all sorts.

9:49 a.m. – Charlotte coach Brad Lambert debuts the “49er Walk” as he and the players enter the Judy Rose Football Center.

11:10 a.m. – Lambert and new Campbell coach Mike Minter, the former Carolina Panthers defensive back and former 49ers’ program fundraiser, meet and shake hands warmly near midfield.

11:44 a.m. – Charlotte players crowd around each other at midfield before heading to the locker room for their final pregame preparations.

11:59 a.m. – Carroll York, who played for the school’s first two football teams in 1946 and 1947, is honored at midfield. York, a Charlotte native who attended old Tech High, was celebrating his 86th birthday on Saturday.

12:08 p.m. – After losing coin flip, Blake Brewer kicks off as an audible, “boom” can be heard from the sellout crowd on what would become a touchback.

12:09 p.m. – Freshman cornerback Tank Norman makes the first official tackle in 49ers’ history by stopping Camels’ quarterback Brian Hudson after a 4-yard gain.

12:10 p.m. – On the second play, Mark Hogan intercepts a Hudson pass and returns 32 yards for a touchdown that is the first in school history – and sets off wild celebrations in the stadium.

12:19 p.m. – After forcing a three-and-out Campbell offensive possession, Charlotte runs its first offensive play – a Matt Johnson incompletion on a deep pass that was nullified by a Camels’ pass interference penalty.

12:20 p.m. – On the first official play, freshman running back Alan Barnwell picks up two yards on a rushing play.

12:27 p.m. – Matt Johnson finds Justin Bolus for a one-yard touchdown pass – the school’s first offensive touchdown – and C.J. Crawford follows up with the school’s first two-point conversion for a 15-0 lead just 6:13 into the game.

12:50 p.m. – Loud cheers greet the 49ers after a first quarter ends with them leading 22-0.

12:55 p.m. – Blake Brewer knocks in the first of his three opening-day field goals – a 30-yarder that makes score 25-0.

1:06 p.m. – Kalif Phillips scores first touchdown run in history – a 15-yarder that makes it 32-0 with 9:32 left in the first half.

1:26 p.m. – Campbell gets its lone score of the game with 2:08 left in the opening half.

1:41 p.m. – The first half ends to loud cheers and a standing ovation from the crowd.

2:24 p.m. – As the 49ers line up for their first-ever punt (by East Lincoln’s Brandon Strupp) rain starts falling – and the crowd cheers. It seems nothing was going to dampen enthusiasm on this day.

3:15 p.m. – The game ends, with junior defensive back Desmond Cooper dousing Lambert with the obligatory Gatorade bath. And, as the press box announcer stated, “The Gatorade was green.”

3:35 p.m. – Minter meets with the media, talks about how he got to spent time with Richardson before the game and said of Charlotte: “They’re good. They’ve got some athletes. We couldn’t stop them.”

3:45 p.m. – Lambert meets with the media: “We’re obviously happy, but we’ve got to avoid the emotional letdown. I told the guys to enjoy tonight, but don’t enjoy it too much. We have a little saying, ‘Humble pie is only seven days away.’ And we’ll remind them of that this week.”

You can reach Richard Walker at 704-869-1841 or by twitter.com/JRWalk22